All right, let’s meet tomorrow to discuss.
I stared at the waiting screen for Royce’s response, my heart hammering in my chest. He had offered, hadn’t he? Royce had so far proven to not be the same guy that had driven me crazy when I had first arrived.
No, he had helped me, which was going to do nothing but piss Arthur off, but I didn’t care.
In fact, he didn’t have to know. I didn’t owe him anything. I didn’t even have to tell Johanna if I didn’t want to. This was my life, my future, and not theirs.
It was high time that I remembered that. No one was going to truly live this future except me. My phone buzzed and my breath caught as I saw his words.
See you tomorrow, pauper.
Chapter 8
Royce
I was prepared for when Anna walked in the room the next afternoon, leaning up against the wall with my lazy-ass grin on my face.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the actual sight of her.
Hell, I didn’t think I would ever be prepared when she walked in the room.
“Royce,” she said, her expression wary.
“Pauper,” I nodded, pushing away from the wall and ignoring the jump of my cock inside my workout pants. “Glad you could make it.”
She rubbed her hands on her arms, looking around. “Why are we here?”
I looked around my domain, my sanctuary. “Because you need to know how to handle yourself as an empress and I’m just the person to teach you.”
“But Arthur has been teaching me,” she said, eyeing the weapons. “And I don’t think that an empress goes around chopping heads off with her sword.”
I laughed. “So, what has dear old Art been teaching you?” I picked up the sword and started toward her, palming the cold steel handle in my hand. It felt at home in my hand, like an old friend that never had done me wrong. “How to publicly acknowledge someone? Which family is the right one to align yourself with? Which fork to use on the appetizers?”
The dull flush of her cheeks told me I had guessed right. I did a slow circle around Anna, seeing the slight tremble in her body as I did so. Once I was at her back, I leaned in, taking a whiff of her clean scent guiltily.
That was the scent that haunted me at night.
“W-what are you doing?” she asked.
Get a fucking grip. “I want to teach you everything that Arthur is not,” I answered, coming around to the front, the sword still in my hand. “When you are a royal, your life is in constant danger.”
Anna tipped her chin upward, that defiance in her eyes warming my black heart. “It is when you are dirt poor as well.”
I cocked my head to the side, surprised by her words. “What do you mean by that?”
Her fist came out of nowhere, colliding in the same fucking spot as Max’s had a few days ago. Stumbling back, I dropped the sword on the mat, nearly losing my balance in the process.
“Oh my God. I am so sorry, Royce. I didn’t think I hit you that hard.”
“You fucking hit me,” I answered, righting myself as I rubbed my jaw.
Her mouth was dropped open, horror on her face. “I’m sorry. I just … Why didn’t you block it?”
I glowered at her. Why the hell hadn’t I blocked it?
Because I wasn’t expecting her to throw a mean right hook, that’s why. “Ouch.”
She walked to me and swatted my hand away, her fingers lightly touching the bruise on my jawline. “I didn’t do that,” she said softly.
She was so close I could see the flecks in her eyes, the small mole that was right beside her eye, and my body seized up, not even wanting to fucking breathe lest I scare her back.
Damn if she didn’t smell like vanilla and coconut, two of my favorites.
I tried and failed to remember when Anna had ever been this close to me before without me coercing her to be.
When had I ever thought her to be plain? Up close, Anna had the classic beauty that even without makeup, she could still pull off a polished look.
Realizing she was waiting for me to respond, I cleared my throat. “No, you didn’t. Max did.”
“Max?” she asked, looking up at me, her brow furrowed. “Why would he hit you?”
“Because I insulted him,” I answered, my voice tight. What would she do if I leaned down and kissed the hell out of her? Would she shrink away?
Or would she do something completely unexpected again and kiss me back?
Hell, she was driving me crazy.
To both my relief and disappointment, Anna backed off, dropping her hand. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Her words hurt more than I thought they would, but I didn’t let her in on my feelings, giving her my cocky grin that matched my rock-hard cock. “Yeah, you shouldn’t be. We kings fight like fucking dogs sometimes.”
“It’s interesting you know,” Anna mused as she picked up my sword. “That you are actually friends to begin with.”
“We have a mutual understanding,” I said, nodding to that sword. “You want to learn how to handle that thing?”
She turned it over in her hands. “It’s heavy.”
“Yeah, it is,” I answered, trying not to think of everything else she could do with those hands of hers. “But once you learn how to handle it, it’s very generous to you in return.”
“Huh,” Anna replied, her fingers touching the steel. I groaned inwardly. I was a fucking king, yet this pauper was destroying me just by touching my
